Sentencing

How many times will the perpetrators of animal cruelty get to walk away scot-free before the Government toughens up the law? Personally I'm sick of having to look into the eyes of dogs who have been abused, knowing that the people who have done this will potentially be doing the same to another animal. Stronger penalties are just one way to put an end to this misery, but they are a vital step. It's time to step up and give these animals the justice they deserve.

In this case, it seems the judiciary went too far. It is surely questionable to factor into sentencing a febrile public mood, particularly when it is stoked by politicians and commentators peddling emotive and unscientific ideas about human behaviour.

The sentence for Max Clifford was achieved by adding up penalties in a US style manner following new sentencing guidelines issued this month. These guidelines suggest that old cases can be sentenced according to the modern approach.

Our gut instinct to punish criminals must be tempered by the realisation that children are innocent. These kids are victims themselves. They should not become a currency of revenge. Taking them into account at their parent's sentencing does not weaken our prosecution system. It does not make us less protected from crime. It does the opposite.

The occasion is what counts - and an appreciation that if you don't provide enough of an deterrent, more and more people will start creating public dangers and destroying sporting events in the name of meaningless causes. Call this elitist if you will, but at least my name's not Trenton.

As we approach potentially the largest general strike in decades on 30 November, those who support unionised workers will face off against a government so myopic in pursuit of deficit reduction that it has lost sight of its obligations.

I wasn't surprised when I took a look at the government's new e-petition website to see the number of petitions to do with the justice system, crime and punishment.
From the death penalty, to who decides sentences, the breadth and volume of petitions shows just what an emotive subject our criminal justice system can be.